Canadian firm prospecting in Iraq without federal approval.

I could not find anything about this Canadian firm on the Internet so perhaps the report has the name incorrect. The Kurds are granting exploration licences etc. without federal approval but this is not even in their area of jurisdiction! There will surely be repurcussions. The reports is from this site.




UIC legislator: Canadian firm prospecting for oil without official approval

Ninewa - Voices of Iraq
Sunday , 09 /12 /2007 Time 4:14:04




Ninewa, Dec 8, (VOI) – A legislator from the Shiite Unified Iraqi Coalition (UIC) accused on Saturday the Iraq Kurdistan region government of trespassing on the administrative frontiers of the Ninewa province by granting an oil prospecting concession to a Canadian company.
"There is a Canadian company called Trsais in al-Shaykhan area, (50 km) northeast of Mosul, where it is prospecting for oil in the district of Talkif, northern Mosul, and already dug an exploratory well without prior official approval from the Iraqi government," Osama al-Najefi told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).
Al-Nejefi pointed out that the Iraqi Kurdistan region's government has granted the Canadian company a concession to dig for oil in areas that do not administratively belong to it.
"This is flagrant violation of the Iraqi law and encroachment by the government of Iraqi Kurdistan on the province of Ninewa," said al-Nejefi, whose UIC is the largest bloc in the Iraqi parliament with 83 out of a total 275 seats.
A crisis broke out recently between the central government and the autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan region's government after the latter concluded oil contracts with foreign companies without prior referral to the government in Baghdad.
An official source in the district of Talkif said "a Canadian firm was working in the area to prospect for oil," adding "a Norwegian company called DNO did this three months ago."
There are several areas lying on the administrative frontiers between the provinces of Ninewa, Arbil and Duhuk which the Iraqi Kurdistan government calls for annexing to the region. The issue is set to be addressed by article 140 of the Iraqi constitution, a bone of contention among political leaders.

AE/SR